Chapter 199: Fishing for the Red Rope
In the governor's manor of the city of Shuntian, Xiao Nanfeng was listening to reports from a group of spectral guards. He turned serious. "They've all gone missing?"
"Yes. King Qi and the various family heads whom we were spying on all vanished overnight, as though it were pre-arranged," the spectral guards reported.
You Jiu sat slumped by a nearby chair, his face pale. "Sir Xiao, this red rope's sly and cunning. It must have been worried that we would assassinate those cursed slaves."
Xiao Nanfeng commended thoughtfully, "The fact that it was so anxious that it would even give up on controlling this batch of cursed slaves and the authority they represent must mean that it's exceptionally weak, and that it needs the cursed spiritual power that these slaves possess."
"If it secretly transforms more people into cursed slaves, it'll be difficult to fend against it," You Jiu said worriedly.
"Considering how weak it must be, it wouldn't do so recklessly. Inform all spectral guards to lie low for the time being. Don't attract its attention," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.
"Yessir!" the spectral guards replied.
"If it goes into hiding, it could reappear at any moment as a threat. Ordinary people won't be able to defend themselves. If only I hadn't sustained this injury, or—!" You Jiu cursed.
"Focus on regaining your strength. I'll be able to force it to resurface no matter what." Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed with confidence.
"Oh?" You Jiu glanced at Xiao Nanfeng curiously.
Xiao Nanfeng gave the spectral guards some further commands, then headed to the front yard where Ye Dafu, Ye Sanshui, and the other fighters were holding a celebratory banquet.
"I slammed open the city gates with a palm. The guards rushed at me before I could do anything, and I simply stood there and let them strike at me. They weren't able to do anything! Did you all see? Nothing can penetrate through the absolute defense of Indomitable Body!" Ye Dafu bragged.
His lackeys echoed his sentiments while the other officers cheered. Ye Dafu and his lackeys were always in the vanguard, and the fighters trusted in their strength and leadership. They were able captains who led by example.
"King Xiao!" Ye Sanshui cried out, seeing Xiao Nanfeng approach.
"King Xiao!" Ye Dafu and the others shouted.
The fighters all bowed.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Allow me to toast you in celebration," Xiao Nanfeng said, smiling.
"To King Xiao!" Everyone raised their cups high and downed the alcohol.
"Ye Dafu, I heard that you and your group were invincible," Xiao Nanfeng continued.
"King Xiao, I'm not bragging, you see, but..." Ye Dafu perked up and was about to continue bragging when Ye Sanshui immediately interrupted, "Dafu, don't get conceited!"
"No, no, it's fine. I'd like to hear about the fight," Xiao Nanfeng replied, laughing.
"King Xiao, you're in for a treat! Why, we..." Ye Dafu animatedly described the battle they had just won.
His lackeys echoed him and added thoughts and descriptions of their own.
In their households, they had all been unfavored children of their generation. The fact that they had led troops to victory was an incredible accomplishment for them, and they wanted to share their success with the entire world.
Ye Sanshui sighed in exasperation. His nephew and his nephew's lackeys were truly incorrigible. When he saw Xiao Nanfeng listen attentively to their tall tales, however, he was shocked. At that moment, Xiao Nanfeng looked like a natural ruler.
"King Xiao, I'm not bragging! If Mr. Zheng didn't stop us because the logistics wouldn't be able to keep up, we'd keep fighting non-stop!"
"All of us can lead troops now, not just our boss! We've all reached Ascension-realm. It'd be trivial for us to take down city after city! We've been recruiting from the masses, and we control tens of thousands of troops among us all. We could easily swallow up all the cities while they're suffering from internal turmoil," Ye Dafu's lackeys added.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at them. "And if I were to have all of you lead troops to take down the neighboring cities? Would you be willing to set off right away?"
"Of course! We're good at fighting, and we don't even have to govern them when we're done!" Ye Dafu and the others pledged.
"Very good. I'll deal with governance and logistics. The battlefield is yours. This will be a celebratory banquet, as well as one to bring in fortune. After you finish the banquet, set off with your troops immediately. Take down as many cities as you can as quickly as possible. Will you take on this responsibility?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
Ye Dafu and the others nodded fervently. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Then let me toast you again to wish you good fortune. The next time you return, rewards shall be distributed to everyone." Xiao Nanfeng lifted his cup up high and laughed.
"To King Xiao!" The fighters raised their cups and downed them in one gulp.
The string of victories that they had experienced was enough to make morale soar. All the cities in the humans' domain were suffering from internal schisms, and many enemy troops even surrendered without a fight.
The army was composed not just of the three thousand fighters of the Isle of Xiao, but also of many enemy soldiers who had voluntarily defected and joined the Xiao troops. They were intelligent and ambitious; the string of victories heralded the rise of King Xiao. This was an excellent opportunity to earn merit in anticipation of lavish rewards to come.
The banquet ended quickly as Ye Sanshui, Ye Dafu, and the troops headed off in earnest to prepare for the next invasion.
Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng had a conversation with Zheng Qian about his plan going forward.
Zheng Qian gave him a wry smile. "King Xiao, it's not difficult to take down a city. What's difficult is the logistics and governance afterwards. If we're at all incautious, the people might revolt."
"There are talents from all over seeking to rally under my banner. Now that we've taken control of even more cities, more talents will emerge as well. Not all will be loyal, nor all talented, but we'll get by. Don't be too strict at the moment. Keep a record of everyone's deeds. We'll start by stabilizing the life of the common people, then eradicating those that have abused their status and position. By then, the new students from the Xiao Academy will be poised to take over," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
"Very well," Zheng Qian conceded, sighing.
"To be frank, the true purpose for the invasion is to lure out that red rope cursed effigy. It's our most dangerous opponent; the empires of Yan and Qi are nothing in comparison."
Zheng Qian nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Ten days later, in a secluded valley, King Qi and the heads of the various clans gathered. Not far beside them was a huge tree on which a length of red rope was hung. The cultivators walked up to the tree and calmly hung themselves, dying and leaving behind nothing but a pile of corpses.
The red rope absorbed all the cursed slaves' cursed spiritual power and began glowing faintly with red light. Then, it transformed into the appearance of a middle-aged man in red.
"I've reclaimed all the cursed spiritual power that remains, but Marquis Wu, that bastard, destroyed most of what I possessed. I'm so weak now that even dealing with a Spiritsong-realm cultivator is taxing," the man spat out.
He glanced at the corpses filling the valley, then flew out of the valley.
"What's done is done. At least my cursed spiritual avatar is back. I just need to kill some more people to regain my strength."
He flew toward a city in the distance, where he set his eyes on a certain clan.
The head of the clan had gone missing, and the power structure of the clan was in wild disarray. Traitors to the clan had seized power and were celebrating their victory.
The man in red waited patiently until it was dark.
After the banquet was over, one of the higher-ranking elders in the clan returned wearily to his home. The moment he pushed open his door, however, he saw an unfamiliar man waiting for him.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The old man blanched, then shouted, "Assass—"
Suddenly, a length of red rope tightened around the elder's neck and pulled him into the room. The door slammed shut.
The man in red had trapped the elder's neck in a lasso.
"Please, spare me!" the elder cried out.
The man in red stepped on the elder's body and questioned, "I've waited outside your manor for an entire day, but I haven't seen a single Ascension-realm cultivator. Does your household not possess any?"
"We..." The elder hesitated, not knowing how to respond.
"Forget it. I'll just make you a cursed slave. You won't be able to hide anything from me then," the man in red continued.
A strand of red thread flew out of the man in red's mindscape and shot toward the elder's mindscape. The elder's body was wracked with pain, but he was unable to make any noise because his lips had been sewn shut.
Not long after, the elder's eyes turned dim. He no longer struggled. When the man in red freed him, he bowed down respectfully. "At your service, Master."
"Do you have Ascension-realm cultivators in your household?" the man in red asked again.
"Master, the old clan head recently vanished. His brother just swept aside all obstacles to take over as the new clan head, and we've just had a celebratory banquet for him. He's an Ascension-realm cultivator, but is not in the city at the moment. There are no other Ascension-realm cultivators in the city."
"Why wasn't he present for the banquet?"
"Xiao Nanfeng of the city of Shuntian has been commanding his troops to invade cities furiously. He split his troops into thirteen separate forces for thirteen different cities—and took them all down! He's already in control of twenty-one different cities of Yan and Qi. His strength is growing far too quickly."
"Oh?"
"The new clan head received an invitation from the royal family of Yan to participate in a secret meeting. All the Ascension-realm cultivators of the humans' domain were invited to participate in order to take down Xiao Nanfeng. Unfortunately, he had to miss the banquet in order to participate."
"In other words, the Ascension-realm cultivators of this domain have all gathered together?" The man in red's eyes lit up.
"Yes, Master."
"Very good!"
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